


Cardiovascular Training (December 12)

by Kireii-yume (kireii_yume)



Series: Kireii-Yume's Christmas Advent Calendar! [12]
Category: Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: Christmas Fluff, Frederick's Fanatical Fitness Hour, Gen, Snowball Fights, Training, but he doesn't show that, frederick is a softie on the inside, lots of training, shepherd training
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-13
Updated: 2016-12-13
Packaged: 2018-09-08 07:22:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,185
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8835490
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kireii_yume/pseuds/Kireii-yume
Summary: No Shepherd wants to train on a cold winter day...unless it can somehow be made into fun!





	

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to you all for your support! Requested by kamuithedragonlord, whose tumblr can be found [here!](http://kamuithedragonlord.tumblr.com)

The snow in the courtyard fell perfectly to the ground, settling into a smooth white blanket the likes of which could only be seen in pastoral storybook scenes. It had a crystalline sheen to it, individual crystals glimmering like diamonds in the light, a sparkling white sheet of fluffy ice that seemed too beautiful to be real. It almost glowed in the light of the sun. More thick, powdery flakes spiraled languidly down, dancing elegantly back and forth, floating around as if to find the perfect place to rest, finally deciding and settling gracefully onto their natural spots. Combined with the slightly overcast horizon and the sun lazily rising, the clouds barely letting the orange and pink dappled sky show through, it looked like a perfect day for simply curling up in a too-large sweater, bundled up in a blanket with a mug of hot cider by a crackling hearth, simply watching the snow fall. 

Of course, Frederick had other plans. 

He’d decided that NOW, early in the morning before any living thing had woken, was the perfect time for Frederick’s Fanatical Fitness Hour, and to rub salt into the Shepherds’ wounds, he had decided that it absolutely must take place outside, for the good of the army. Of course, all the Shepherds objected. They vociferously reminded him of every single reason why he should modify his plan. But, of course, Frederick stood firm. “The enemy doesn’t stop for cold!” he said. “The weather won’t change for your comfort!” he reminded. “We must be prepared for ANY and ALL circumstances!” he repeated. This mantra was not a new one to the Shepherds, and they’d quickly learned that once Frederick brought that up, he’d use it to justify anything from running laps in hundred degree heat to sparring on a frozen lake. It was pointless to argue with, quite honestly, and all the Shepherds knew it. So the moment that phrase left Frederick’s mouth, the Shepherds resigned themselves to their fates and bundled up. 

As they stepped out of the castle and walked to the main grounds, their boots scattered the pristine snowflakes, leaving clumsy prints as they stumbled in the nearly ten-inch deep snow. Instead of crisp footprints, they left a semblance of a trail with divots where they’d stepped, and even that was rapidly being covered by the new snowfall. 

“Hello, Shepherds!” Frederick’s voice boomed as they all finally made it to him. He cut an imposing figure, seeming to tower above everyone in the snow. His cheeks and nose weren’t even red as he stood there, despite the flakes of snow blowing directly in his face. 

“F-f-f-Frederick, it’s freezing!” Lissa objected, her teeth chattering as she futilely tried to wrap her thin cloak around her. It slipped out of her numb fingers, caught in the wind.

“It builds character, milady!” Frederick responded, his voice bright. The Shepherds all groaned simultaneously at yet another of Frederick’s adages. 

“The Vaike’s freezing his balls off!” Vaike moaned. He was actually wearing a shirt for once in his life, a true indicator that this was an epic freeze. 

“Now that everyone is here, drop down! Thirty pushups!” All the Shepherds gave Frederick an incredulous look. Stahl silently stared at the deep snowdrifts getting taller by the minute, realizing just how unreasonable this request was.

“This snow is approximately ten point seven eight inches, and given our statures, even the tallest among us will simply be buried by the displaced snow before we could complete that task,” Miriel said, examining the snow and how it accumulated around her legs. Her glasses were fogged from her hot breath as her scarf pushed it up. “To assume otherwise is simply illogical and, in fact, completely impossible.” Frederick glared at her. 

“Drop! Down!” Frederick shouted. Vaike, not one to be showed up or to appear weak, did so, receiving a face full of snow for his troubles. He let out a muffled shout, struggling against the snow to stand. When he did so, his hair was matted with snow, his eyes were red, and his face was fully flushed. His fingers were turning pale as well. “Push ups!” Frederick ordered again. No one responded, staring at the hole that Vaike had made in the snow. “This is for your own good! How will you expect to ever get stronger without practice?! How will you succeed?! How, in the heat of battle, will you ever manage toMMMPH!” A well-aimed snowball hit Frederick squarely in the side of the face. Half of it had gone into his mouth, effectively silencing him, and the other half stuck in his hair. He spat out the snow, and wiped the rest off his face, his expression quickly turning stormy. “Who did that?!” He demanded. “Show me your hands!” He examined the hands of all the Shepherds. Stahl’s were clean, Vaike’s were as clean as they could be given his ill-fated attempt, as were Miriel’s, Chrom’s, Lissa’s,…but contrary to what anyone expected, the hands that still bore the incriminating traces of snow were Sumia’s. Frederick stood, staring down at her, his expression remaining serious, and Sumia stood her ground. Perhaps it was bravery, perhaps it was the knowledge that she’d trip if she tried to back up, but regardless, she didn’t move. But before Frederick could do anything, he was hit with another snowball, this time courtesy of Chrom. 

“Alright,” Frederick said, still unmoving. “I believe this calls for a different course of action than intended.” He stood for a moment, glaring at the Shepherds, but before anyone could react, he threw another snowball, hitting Chrom squarely in the chest. Chrom laughed, diving down to make another snowball, and Sumia joined him from the other side. Quickly, the others caught onto this new game, and even the serious and composed Miriel was kneeling in the snow, constructing fortifications. Snowballs flew through the practice field as everyone went through their respective strategies. Vaike grabbed as many snowballs as he could, trying to show his strength, but that was quickly shown to be ineffective when he dropped the snowballs after a hit to the face by Stahl. Perhaps the most effective strategy was Stahl’s, one so simple that it was deceptive. He simply made snowballs as he went, remaining mobile so he was difficult to hit. Everyone laughed until they were breathless, continuing to sprint around in the snow, not even caring if they fell. The peals of laughter stretched up to the castle, especially when a snowball out of nowhere was revealed to have come from Kellam, who no one had noticed the entire time. But even he had his fair share of attacks focused on him, and when everyone stopped, they were all grinning, flushed and breathing hard. 

“Well,” Frederick began. “I will simply count this as endurance training for the day. I must admit it has a value of its own. All of you are dismissed!” And everyone reconvened to the castle to end a perfect winter day just as it should be ended—in front of a roaring hearth, with blankets and hot drinks.

**Author's Note:**

> Check out my [tumblr](http://kireii-yume.tumblr.com) to see more of me!


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